Round 2: More sleet, snow expected this week

Even though yesterday's rain has washed away a great deal of the snow and ice packing the roadways , we're not in the clear just yet according to WTKR's five-day forecast.

While temperatures are expected to be in the low-to-mid 40s today and last into Thursday, things are expected to cool off sometime Friday, threatening the area with a chance of rain and snow beginning Friday evening and continuing through Saturday.

None of the upcoming snow is expected to approach anywhere near the level of last weekend's blast, which averaged around 8 inches for most local areas, according to WTKR.

Temperatures had been expected to rise Tuesday to start a thaw, but they hovered in the 30s, and there was still plenty of ice and snow piled up around Hampton Roads as late as this morning, with most of the remaining snow and ice in residential neighborhoods.

For those who follow the fluffy forecaster to our North, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Tuesday, predicting six more weeks of winter.

Locally, a return to normal schedules has been slow in coming this week as residential streets remained iced over and schools stayed closed.

Newport News City, Williamsburg-James City, Hampton, Gloucester, Suffolk County, York County, Mathews and Isle of Wight schools will be closed for students again, today.

Newport News city recycling services were running behind early this week, said city spokeswoman Kim Lee. Residents are asked to leave their trash and recycling at the curb until it's picked up, and to hold on to bulk waste items for one week if possible.

With the slippery footing and amount of snow still being navigated across the area, weather-related injuries have been up among patients at Riverside Emergency and Trauma Center in Newport News, said spokesman Peter Glagola.

"We've been seeing patients involved in sledding accidents resulting in broken bones, people who have fallen on the ice and hurt themselves and some with chest pain due to shoveling snow and other snow-related activities," he said. Virginia Department of Transportation workers were still plowing rural areas Tuesday and are now planning for overnight and weekend precipitation, said VDOT spokeswoman Lauren Hansen.

The possibilities for rain mixed with sleet and snow Tuesday night complicated the strategy for servicing roads because they couldn't be pretreated when rain was included in the forecast, Hansen said.

Crews continued to work 12-hour shifts and might or might not get a break if this weekend brings the predicted snow.

"We've restocked our sand supplies from this past weekend for any impending weather," Hansen said. "So we'll have enough supplies on hand if we do have another winter event this weekend."

This story was compiled with the assistance of Summer Gladden, intern, Daily Press.